Chocolate Zucchini Bread

addictive and delicious... with a secret ingredient your mom would be proud of.

I used to have this job that people would hear about and go, "no way... really?" when they would hear what I did.  It was a good job with great coworkers and I miss that group a lot.  Everyone I worked with back then has gone on to great things, especially our boss. ;)

One of the fond memories I have from that job was going to the local coffee shop each morning for our caffeine fix (and sometimes for an afternoon pick me up).  If any of you are ever in Chicago (or apparently the Los Angeles area) be sure to check out Intelligentsia.  They roast the best coffee I have ever had in the US and are definitely among my top favorites for coffee worldwide.  They also make a mean hot cocoa for you non-coffee drinkers.

And the chocolate zucchini bread they have is to die for.

I forgot about that bread (it was a long process to forget it when I stopped working across the street from an Intelligentsia) until a friend who I worked with at the aforementioned really cool job posted on facebook that she had gone for coffee at Intelligentsia.  All of a sudden I really wanted that chocolate zucchini bread.

cocoa, chocolate chips and... zucchini?!? Its still delicious.

Back in the day I used to get it basically any time they had it in the bakery case.  I am not saying it was the best way most healthy way least indulgent way to eat breakfast, but it definitely was the most delicious.  And it has zucchini in it... that is a vegetable.  It has to count for something right?

A week ago we had a tapas party and in my zeal for entertaining (this was our first post baby party), I over planned the menu.  So a few items got cut from production, including a dish that was based on zucchini.  So I had three large and beautiful zucchinis in my fridge, just begging to be cooked.  Initially was I going to make some sort of dinner item out of them, but then after seeing the facebook post I decided I was going to try my hand at chocolate zucchini bread.

This is what there was to start.  Two days later we only had crumbs and memories of the deliciousness that was chocolate zucchini bread.

Last night I mentioned to my hubby that I wanted to eat something sweet.  He concurred, but when I said I was going to make chocolate zucchini bread to fulfill that craving, he opted to go to the grocery store next door and buy something from their bakery.  He didn't think anything with a vegetable in it would make for a good decadent dessert.  After dinner we pulled the cake slices he bought out of the fridge and I took the zucchini bread off the cooling rack.  After taking a few bites of each, my hubby asked how the cake slice was and I told him I preferred the zucchini bread.  He agreed after tasting both as well.

The bread is moist from the zucchini, but you don't really taste the veggie at all.  It lends a little something of interest to the bread, but nothing that would make a toddler balk.  Its so chocolately and not overly sweet.  So there you go kids.  Eat your vegetables.  Make the chocolate zucchini bread, have it for breakfast or for dessert... or better yet, both!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups shredded raw zucchini
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsifted natural cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (i forgot to put this in and it still tasted good)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional... I put it in though)
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil (can also use corn, safflower or vegetable)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Place the rack in the middle and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease or spray a 9x5 loaf pan with butter or Pam.

Shred zucchini and set aside. To get 1 1/2 cup, I needed about two medium sized zucchinis.  You can also freeze any leftover you have after shredding for future recipes (and you will be making this again, I promise).

A box grater is wonderful for shredding zucchini.  Remember to cut the ends off the veggie, but leave the skin on.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, coca powder and cinnamon. Fold in chocolate chips and set aside.  In a second bowl whisk together eggs, oil, and sugars.  Add in vanilla and combine thoroughly.  The original recipe said to use a hand mixer or a stand mixer, but I used a whisk and it worked just fine.  Then fold in the shredded zucchini until well mixed.

Cocoa gives this a very deep chocolate flavor.  The chocolate chips push it over the edge into almost dessert territory.

Yep.  There IS zucchini in there!

Fold the wet mixture into the dry.  Pour contents into the prepared loaf pan and bake in the oven for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  For me this meant cooking for 50 minutes (although I think the bread maybe could have used a few more minutes bc it was almost too moist when I took it out, even though I had a clean toothpick).

At this point, I was less than an hour away from the bread of my dreams... 

Allow to cook in the pan on a wire rack for ten minutes, then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Source: The Joy of Baking